Pours a straw yellow color that is fairly indicative of the style. 1.5 fingers of dense, white head stuck around for most of the drinking session. Lacing was adequate. Problem is that most examples of the Saison style (and I've had a lot of them) look pretty awesome. So, when rating to style, this impressive looking beer is actually pretty average amongst its peers.

Not a lot going on in the nose. It doesn't smell like an elite Saison. It doesn't even smell like a good Saison. It is all banana and spice and airy biscuit malt. Lots of banana, actually. No funk or phenol or sourness or hoppiness to speak of. If this were given to me in a blind tasting then I would emphatically call "bullshit" on its aroma.

I would call "bullshit" on its taste, too. This does not taste like a good Saison beer. It is dominated by banana esters. There is some minute funk flavor and a bit of generic malt flavor to inform the banana but that's it. This beer is pretty accessible for what it is. It just isn't a good example of the Saison style.

Solid mouthfeel on the beer, though. It strikes a good balance between the prickly carbonation and having a body size conducive to carrying the flavors that it wants to present. Drinkability suffers from 1.) not being a good example of the style, and 2.) having a large (for the style) ABV%.

Saison is my favorite style of beer. I am very passionate about it. So take this review with a grain of salt; I am a Saison nerd. I haven't tasted Hennepin for a few years until tonight, yet it is just as poor as I remember it being. I can't understand how people think this is a good Saison. if you like this beer then I implore you to check out better examples of the style.

Big bottle (22oz?) with champagne cork. Pours beautiful dark yellow with big frothy white head. Tons of complex aroma that sends your nose working overtime to figure out what exactly you are getting into here.

Pretty sweet, too sweet for me, but ton of other spicy, fruity, floral stuff going on for balance also. Bottle doesn't mention anything about spices, but hard to imagine all of these flavors being created by just the yeast.

Flavors changed as it warmed. It took me a while to drink it, was definitely better warmer. Overall way too sweet to me. I'm new to the style, but drinkability was tough cuz of the overly sweet finish. I' going to try some more saisons, but not this one again.

Not to be the spoiler of fun, I'm just not a fan of this particular beer. The first time I had it, I liked it, but I have had many since then and haven't liked it much at all.
It pours into the glass a hazy orangish yellow with a huge head. I tried to control it, but it was like racing a car on ice with a blown tire, I couldn't win. But it does give the drinker a decent chance to smell of what he/she is drinking. The smell was hoppy, but it has a great deal of sweetness to it. The taste is bready to say the least. It's not much different than bitting into a slice of wonder bread. There are some hoppy qualities to it. A bitterness and also a sweetness.
Normally these are qualities that I like in a beer, but it doesn't sork for me in the Hennepin.

Okay. This is not so much a review as it is a warning. First I have to say that I'm a big fan of Omm brews. And all the reviews of Hennepin are pretty accurate concerning appearance, smelll, etc. But one reviewer said "The beer finishes with sweet notes and yeast". I'd say it finishes with a bitter over hopped taste that lingers until you brush your teeth. Now you serious beer guys aren't going to like this, but in the spirit of keeping the gravity, I cut this ale with Keystone Ice rather than flush it. I'll stick with the Ommegang Abbey Ale. Like I said earlier, I can't disagree with the myriad of excellent reviews of this offering from Ommegang, if this style suits your taste. But if, like me, you were introduced to Ommegang through their Abbey Ale or Wheat...Whit...Weiss, whatever you choose to call it, the Hennepin is a different beast.